Mexico on five projections
Mexico covers 1,973,773 km² of ground. Mercator draws it 1.21 times over. Area and shape readings on all five projections, each one measured.
This object
- True area
- 1,973,773 km²
- Anchor latitude
- 23.9° N
- Angular radius
- 15.7°
- Draggable latitude range
- -78.5° … 78.7°
On five projections
Each number is measured against its own projection's equator, not against another projection. These five rows do not share an axis - they are five answers to the same question: what did this map give up to lay this place flat?
| Projection | Area distortion | Shape distortion |
|---|---|---|
| Equirectangular | 1.10 | 1.09 |
| Mercator | 1.21 | 1.00 constant |
| Natural Earth | 1.07 | 1.26 |
| Equal Earth | 1.00 constant | 1.44 |
| Gall-Peters | 1.00 constant | 1.67 |
Mercator inflates it most, 1.21 times over. Gall-Peters stretches it most: its long axis is 1.67 times its short one.
The same size, drawn otherwise
Nothing in the catalogue is close to Mexico's area at a far enough latitude to be worth the comparison.
Bigger than the map admits
These cover more ground than Mexico and Mercator draws them smaller anyway.
- Democratic Republic of the Congo: Democratic Republic of the Congo is truly 1.18 times larger, and Mercator still draws this one 1.01 times bigger.
On an equal-area projection this section is empty, for every object there is. An equal-area map draws in proportion to true area, so it cannot draw a larger thing smaller. That is a definition, not a coincidence.
Open it in the tool
Drag Mexico across the latitude bands and the readout follows.